Surrounded is a 2023 Western film following Mo (Moses) Washington, a
Sweet Polly Oliver former Buffalo soldier in 1870 who is traveling to claim an inheritance when her stagecoach is robbed by a gang of outlaws, and she finds herself having to guard a
Poisonous Captive in the dangerous territory while being unsure about who deserves her trust or sympathy.
Tropes in the Film:
- Action Girl: Mo is a woman who's a former soldier. She's quite skilled with a gun, describing herself as the best soldier in her unit (which seems believable) and shoots experienced opponents down many times during the film.
- Bank Robbery: Tommy Walsh is known and wanted for stealing $40,000 in a past bank robbery, which he hid to get later.
- Bounty Hunter: Clay introduces himself as a kindly farmer passing by, but Tommy insists that Clay has been chasing him for the reward for years and is willing to kill anyone who stands between it and him. Tommy is telling the truth.
- Cassandra Truth: Tommy, who's had past dealings with Will Clay, knows that he's a ruthless, evil man. He warns Mo repeatedly how his kind attitude is an act. At first she doesn't believe it, but he turns out to be right. It doesn't help that Tommy is a wanted outlaw himself. Mo also had wanted to trust Clay, as he reminded her of her father.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Mo is a former slave turned soldier, while Tommy has outlived his father, brother, wife, and son in the events leading up to him becoming an outlaw.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: The film does not shy from showing just how much racism Mo, a young black woman, is forced to suffer, since it's 1870 in the American West. Given she passes as a man, she's in danger too from being found out and punished for this. Mo angrily rants at one man for goading her about both her race and presentation, quite understandably.
- The Dreaded: Tommy Walsh is known and feared as a notorious outlaw.
- Establishing Character Moment: Wheeler is quickly established as one of the least racist white people in the movie when Curly, the stagecoach driver, degradingly forces Mo to give up her weapon, and Wheeler pointedly asks if he needs to do the same and shoots Mo a sympathetic glance after Curly says no.
- Faux Affably Evil: Will Clay acts like a friendly man, even paternal to Mo (saying he had a daughter her age once etc). He turns out to be a very ruthless bounty hunter who will kill anyone in his way, and his kindness is just an act.
- Foil: Tommy Walsh is one for Mo. Like her, he's suffered greatly in the past, including losing relatives. Unlike her though, he uses his past sufferings as justification to rob and murder people, feeling that the world owes him with a clear chip on his shoulder. Mo does kill people, but only when they try to murder her (or once as a Mercy Kill). She specifically says that Tommy's sufferings are no excuse for what he's done.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Mo is sympathetic to Tommy saying he lost many relatives in the past, but points out that didn't justify becoming a criminal and having hurt people.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Tommy Walsh, a notorious bandit, says he fought in the American Civil War with the Union Army.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: In the aftermath of the failed stagecoach robbery, Wheeler goes to the county seat to fetch the sheriff and a posse while sending Curly to take the injured Mr. Fields to a doctor and have Mo stay behind to guard the captured outlaw leader, something which makes sense to do but doesn't go well for everyone who sets out to follow that plan.
- Mercy Kill: Clay catches on fire while fighting Tommy and Mo. She shoots him to end his pain.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Mo introduces herself as Mo, not her full name Moses, which only gets used briefly.
- The Promised Land: Mo views Colorado Territory this way, as she's got a deed for land there, which is a Godsend to her as a former slave. She's devastated when it gets destroyed. Her retrieving the stolen money at the end means she could still make it.
- Quick Draw: Mo always manages to outdraw every opponent she faces in the film.
- Religious Bruiser: Mo is a former soldier who's quite skilled with a gun. She's also a devout Christian and carries her Bible along with her on her journey, praying God will see her to safety.
- The Savage Indian: A few Comanche men appear in the film, who attack Tommy and Mo for straying into their land. She kills them defending herself. With that said, Mo is sympathetic to them, having left the US Cavalry as she didn't want to fight Native people who aren't much lighter than her (as she's black).
- Slave Liberation: Mo relates that at the end of the American Civil War she, along with her family, were declared free by the Union Army and left plantation where they had been enslaved. However, as she says, being free didn't mean their problems were over, since they had no land or a place to go afterward. She went West after getting land in hopes of being truly free that way.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Mo is a young black woman who's dressed as a man and presented this way to others. Tommy Walsh sees through it, while most people simply think she's younger because of her soft voice and slim build. Will Clay also sees through it later, calling Mo "Gal" immediately when they meet.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Downplayed. Most of the people who die in the movie are racists and/or criminals, but Curly's assistant stagecoach driver Andy sells Mo a ticket without insisting that she give up her gun or ride on the running board the same way his boss does, bravely fights against the outlaws attacking the coach, and still dies from an Agonizing Stomach Wound. This is also downplayed with Mr. Fields, whose racial views are more ambiguous, but who is at least a polite Badass Bystander who is also badly wounded during the robbery and later apparently killed by Clay.
- Worthy Opponent: Tommy is glad it's Mo who kills him after he tries to draw on her near the end, praising her.
